How often do you look at your own website?
Website owners are generally so busy running their companies
that updating or refreshing their sites is not normally high
on their list of priorities. Unfortunately, this oversight
can and often does have seriously negative effects on their
businesses.
Is the information contained on the site still relevant?
If your chosen daily paper was an exact replica of the previous
day’s edition, week after week, month after month,
it is an absolute certainty that before too long you would
stop buying it – the same principle applies to website
visitors! If your website content does not change often enough,
people will stop looking at it.
Could the look of the site be deterring existing
and would-be customers?
A website has only a few seconds to impress a visitor enough
to make them want to continue browsing. Unfortunately, there
are countless numbers of website owners that are under the
illusion that once their sites are up-and-running there is
nothing more they need to do to them. This way of thinking
is losing them money!
When you neglect your website, you are literally
wasting the most effective marketing tool available.
A website is an asset and an investment, so it is extremely
important that it is used to its maximum potential. If you
have gone to the trouble and expense of having one built
it makes good business sense to look after it properly. Periodic
assessments of its performance, content and looks will help
you to decide how to keep it fresh and interesting.
Would a ‘makeover’ benefit the site
and ultimately the company?
Websites benefit from content changes to refresh their looks
and keep visitors interested. Perhaps using more up-to-date
images of products or staff photos would work wonders; saying
something new with a copy rewrite could also help to regenerate
interest in your company’s products and services.
Your web designer is your friend.
Taking time to talk to your web designer will be time well
spent. Get their opinions on how the site might perform better;
ask them how the look can be improved. This is where your
designer’s help will prove invaluable, contact them – two
or three heads are better than one!
There is an old adage that says, ‘Out of sight, out
of mind.’ This is totally true – until what has
been put out of sight and mind comes back to bite you! – Ignore
your website and it will take revenge by driving customers
away, look after it, and it will look after you.
This article is the property of the author and may only
be reproduced in its original form.
John Sheridan is a professional proofreader of hard copy
items and website copy. He also writes web copy and occasionally
accepts small copy-editing assignments. He can be contacted
via:
http://www.textcorrect.co.uk
